There is still a strong likelihood that Oakville will be merged with Burlington, Milton, and Halton Hills to form the Megacity of Halton despite claims by our local MPPs. Through a unilateral decision by the Province, our town as we know it can be wiped out.

 

In August, Premier Ford openly confirmed that some municipalities will soon be amalgamated and the number of local politicians will be reduced. In addition, the special advisors report on the Regional Government Review has been delayed, possibly until after the October federal election.

 

What could happen – Consider BILL 108 – After only one month of public consultations and at an unprecedented speed, the Ford government passed Bill 108 that affects 13 important Acts. It will increase property taxes and result in the loss of our voice and autonomy over the future of Oakville to the benefit of developers.

 

It is too late to stop Bill 108, but you can still join over 3,000 residents who have already sent letters to save Oakville.

 

Please SEND a LETTER to the Ford Government (it takes less than a minute) to stop higher taxes, service reductions, and the loss of our local voice.

 

Read more about this in the We Love Oakville September e-newsletter.

The West Harbour Resident’s Association was recently contacted by Halton Region Police Services to discuss Break and Enter Prevention efforts in Oakville.  Please find below a letter from Halton Region Police Services to all Oakville residents:

 

Dear Oakville residents,

Over the past couple months, the Town of Oakville has seen an increase in the number of residential break and enters. These break and enters vary and include incidents where doors and windows have been broken and incidents where doors and windows were left unlocked.

 

Recent trends include:

·         Leaning small sticks against doors (including garage doors) to determine if anyone has returned home (opening the doors will drop the stick signaling that someone is home);

·         The same vehicle slowly driving by a house approximately 3 times within a short time frame; and

·         Suspicious people entering backyards to peer through windows.

 

In addition to the attached poster, please take an extra precaution to:

 

·         Lock your doors and set your home alarm even if you are home;

·         If someone rings the door bell, answer the door or at least make it known someone is home by calling out;

·         Avoid keeping garage door openers in your car.  Thieves are known to break into cars and use the opener to access your garage and house; and

·         Call police if you see something out of the ordinary in your neighbourhood.  You know your neighbourhood better than anybody else.  Please report suspicious activity to the non-emergency line (905-825-4777).  The Halton Police will be more than willing to investigate.

 

The following is a 28 minute video regarding how to prevent break-ins and recent fraudulent scams with Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and officers from Halton Regional Police Service:

https://youtu.be/bnlG9D_cUYQ

 

If you’re looking for specific information on how to protect your home, please go to the following times in the video:

 

·         Learn how to better secure your doors: https://youtu.be/bnlG9D_cUYQ?t=2m7s

·         Prevent window breaks: https://youtu.be/bnlG9D_cUYQ?t=16m20s

·         Learn about home security cameras: https://youtu.be/bnlG9D_cUYQ?t=19m56s

 

The Security Camera Resource and Mapping program (SCRAM) enables our community members to voluntarily identify their residential video surveillance location through our secure and confidential online form found on the Halton Regional Police Service website, https://www.haltonpolice.ca/scram/.  This tool will assist officers when investigating criminal activity in your neighborhoods and furthermore, deter and prevent crime. Please consider registering your camera(s).

 

Need to report a crime or suspicious activity? Please call the Halton Police non-emergency line: 905-825-4777

 

Please call the emergency line only to report a crime in progress or, another emergency where assistance is required immediately:EMERGENCY 911

 

If you have any questions and would like to learn more about residential break and enters, please visit www.haltonpolice.ca or, contact Constable Brennan Bryan by email or phone.

 

Thank you,

 

Brennan Bryan

Cst. #9885

Halton Regional Police Service

Oakville – 20 Division

Victim Restoration Officer

brennan.bryan@haltonpolice.ca

P: 905-825-4747 ex. 2261

Dear Neighbour,

 

Recently your WHRA Executive Committee, along with other Oakville Residents Associations, joined the grassroots organization We Love Oakville, which has been formed to Stop Amalgamation and we are appealing to you to support this campaign.  

 

As you have chosen to make Oakville your home, we would like to make you aware of the Province’s announcement on January 15, 2019 to conduct a Regional Government Review of eight Regional Municipalities (including Halton Region, Simcoe County, and several lower-tier municipalities) “to ensure that Regional Governments are working efficiently and effectively.” A two-person advisory body was appointed to submit recommendations from the review and their consultations to Steve Clark, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

 

The Regional Government Review is a flawed process. Engaging two advisors to review not 5 but 82 municipalities in less than six months and making any credible recommendations is beyond superficial. Our regional governance structure works well, so our focus should continually be on improving rather than destroying it.  

 

One of the possible, and many say probable outcomes from this review is a proposal for Oakville to be amalgamated with the other Halton Region Municipalities, i.e. Burlington, Milton, and Halton Hills, to form a large regional bureaucracy, The City of Halton. What will this mean for you and our community?

 

The Municipalities within Halton Region have very different fundamental characteristics and needs. To name but two: compare the low population density of Halton Hills to that of Oakville which is 6 times higher and compare a population growth rate of 30% in Milton that is 7 times higher than that of Burlington. Each of our Municipalities has developed and evolved differently based on its own needs, vision, character, culture, and priorities.

 

Forced amalgamation will therefore be extremely costly in financial, social, and human terms. All of this will be compounded by years of disruption, confusion, and conflict, as each Municipality has its own unique vision, character, and set of issues. The financial cost of forced amalgamation will be enormous. A large Regional bureaucracy will be more costly to operate than our current decentralized government system. Studies by respected organizations on previous Ontario amalgamations conclude that they did not result in cost savings, lower property taxes, or any tangible benefits. The authors of the 2015 Fraser Institute report, for instance, found that “in each case, we see significant increases in property taxes, remuneration, and long-term debt.”

 

Forced amalgamation will not produce benefits. While counterintuitive, multiple studies throughout the world have shown that municipal amalgamations rarely work. Benefits are very hard to get and, where they are realized, they take very much longer to appear.

 

Forced amalgamation will mean a loss of our voice. A large Regional bureaucracy will be more removed from the citizens it serves, more difficult to govern and control, and less responsive to local needs of the residents. Under jeopardy is Oakville’s Official Plan that protects the character of our stable neighbourhoods and our environment and which directs growth to appropriate areas.  

 

Forced amalgamation is trying to fix a system that is not broken. Our two-tier (local and regional) government in Halton efficiently and effectively serves the residents of Oakville and its other municipalities at the local level, while providing coordinated planning and shared services across the region as evidenced by these indicators:    

 

• Oakville and Regional property tax increases have been kept at or below the rate of inflation.
• Halton has a AAA credit rating and consistent job growth.
• All four municipalities in Halton Region are ranked amongst the best places to live in Canada. (MoneySense 2018)
• Halton is considered to be one of the safest regions in Canada.
• Throughout Halton, 98% of residents rated the quality of life very high and 97% are satisfied with the quality of all services.

 

Bottom line:

Forced amalgamation will have serious financial, social, and human consequences. Property taxes will increase and the level and quality of services at the regional and local levels will likely be negatively impacted – everything from policing, fire protection, waste collection, snow removal, community centres, and libraries. AND within a large bureaucracy, our voices will be lost. These are risks that we should not be prepared to take.

 

If you support STOP AMALGAMATION, we encourage you to act:

 

• Visit the website We Love Oakville to get the facts and subscribe to our newsletter.
• Donate to the campaign.
• Be a champion for Oakville – share this e-mail with your family and friends in Halton and follow We Love Oakville on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
• Visit Send a strong message to Queen’s Park that you are opposed to amalgamation.

 

Thanks for your consideration.

 

Your WHRA Executive

Please remember to vote this Monday, October 22nd for Ward 2 and Mayoral candidates. Voting is a key civic responsibility for all members of the community; we can only keep the West Harbour area such a great place to live through our civic engagement.

More voting information can be found here:

https://elections.oakville.ca/